The first $1 million Keno winner in the game’s 30-year history was awarded in Massachusetts earlier this week.
The ticket holder purchased the winning ticket in Pittsfield, and won their prize in Wednesday’s Keno game.
Keno is a game offered through the Massachusetts Lottery, and the $1 million prize was a record for the state. MA first began offering Keno back in 1993.
Astronomical odds
The $1 million winner played the 12-spot game with numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12, which carries odds of winning at 1 in 478,261,833, according to the Massachusetts State Lottery.
In Keno, players select up to 12 numbers anywhere from 1-80. You have to match all your numbers to win. The more you match, the more you win.
The complete series of winning numbers for the March 22 game was: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 24, 28, 31, 44, 53, 71 and 75.
The fact that all numbers 1-12 were picked was unusual, as noted by Mark William Bracken, the Interim Executive Director of the Massachusetts State Lottery.
“While a rare occurrence, it shows that the chances of consecutive numbers being selected are the same as the chances of any other set of numbers,” Bracken said in a press release from the MSL.
There was also a $500,000 winner who picked numbers 1-11 and four $100,000 winners who picked numbers 1-10 for Wednesday’s game. The half million prize winning ticket was sold in Taunton, and the four $100,000 tickets were purchased in Ashland, Ayer, East Falmouth and Newton.
The ticket that resulted in the first $1 million prize from Keno in Massachusetts history was sold at Zenner’s Pub & Deli, on 303 Tyler Street in Pittsfield.
For selling a $1 million winning Keno ticket, Zenner’s Pub & Deli will be awarded $10,000. The other locales that sold tickets of $100,000 to $500,000 receive $1,000 or $5,000 bonuses.
Lottery players who win an amount in excess of $103,000 must claim their winnings at the Massachusetts Lottery headquarters. The names of the winner are not required to be revealed.
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What is Keno?
Keno is an ancient game invented in China more than 3,000 years ago. It was first introduced as a lottery game option in the Commonwealth in 1993.
The original game used a grid of 120 characters. But the modern Keno lottery game is based on a grid of 80 squares or numbers.
Players must select the number of squares (or “spots”) they want for each game. The more spots you match, the more you can win.
In most states Keno is played on certain evenings of the week. Typically, with new draws every few minutes. The Mass State Lottery holds a new Keno drawing once every four minutes between 5:04 a.m. and 1 a.m.
It resembles bingo in that players can start new even after failing to win the previous Keno draw.
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If you or a loved one is experiencing problems with gambling, call 1-800-327-5050 or visit www.mahelpline.org/problemgambling to speak with a trained specialist for free, 24/7
